The School of Football

The Schools of Football develop the social and academic skills of boys and girls during their first and second year of high school. Many skills developed within a football environment are transferable to school work and social situations.

Communication, following instructions, creativity and problem solving are amongst the skills developed when learning to play football, and can also be applied in classroom situations, in the playground, at home or in the street. For many children, football captures their imagination, and the Schools of Football use the game to engage participants in school life as a whole. Football is used as a tool to motivate the pupils, and their place on the School of Football programme depends on school attendance and academic improvement.
An accredited Scottish FA coach is responsible for the daily delivery and coordination of the project at each school.

Players are selected on footballing ability as well as a range of other criteria. Scottish FA coaches lead the selection and football aspects,but the programme is very much a partnership with local authority education departments, school teachers, active schools co-ordinators and football development officers. Coaching takes place during school time after an appropriate timetable is developed by the school. In most cases, one subject is dropped to make space for football with support provided by staff to allow the pupil to remain up to date with their studies.
The programme started in 2008 and there are currently 16 Schools of Football across the country, delivering over 5000 hours of practice to 440 pupils.

The Scottish FA Schools of Football are supported by the Scottish Government’s CashBack for Communities initiative.

Applications for 2016/2017 will open mid to late March

Letters will be sent out inviting successful applicants into school for a presentation and interview.